1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a foldable cardboard food box that has a closable food receptacle for receiving food and also has a dip tray for receiving one or more dip sauce cups.
2. Background Art
Foldable cardboard food boxes are made of corrugated cardboard including a pair of cardboard sheets spaced by an intermediate corrugated cardboard spacers and searched thereto by an adhesive. Such cardboard food boxes have previously included a closable food receptacle for receiving food such as heated chicken pieces, bread sticks, etc. as well as including a dip tray for receiving at least one dip sauce cup that facilitates dipping and eating of the food such as at a spectator event whose seating requires that the food be held in the person""s lap during the eating.
Prior foldable cardboard food boxes, most of which have only a food receptacle unlike the food box of the present invention which also has a dip tray, are disclosed by U.S. Pat No. Des. 356,254 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 371,296 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 380,152 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 380,965 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 385,785 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 394,388 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 400,438 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 402,435 Correll; Des. 427,526 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 436,533 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,326 Deiger; U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,039 Philips; U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,032 Geho; U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,329 Patton; U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,225 Ritter; U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,949 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,845 Ritter; U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,814 Davis; U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,940 Olds; U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,241 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,771 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,716 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,339 Correll; U.S. Pat. No.5,702,054 Philips et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,509 Correll; U.S. Pat. No.5,752,651 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,755 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,130 Correll; 5,881,948 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,797 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,035 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,951 Correll; 6,065,669 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,791 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,715 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,512 Morrison; 6,196,448 Correll; U.S. Pat. No.6,026,277 Correll; U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,979 Correll; and U.S. Pat. No.6,290,122 Correll.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved foldable cardboard food box having a food receptacle that can be opened and closed and a dip tray for supporting one or more dip sauce cups so as to facilitate eating of food while standing or sitting, such as at a spectator event where there is no table or other convenient way of consuming the food.
In carrying out the above object, the foldable cardboard food box of the invention includes a base having a D shape including a straight back edge, a straight front edge of a smaller length than the back edge, a pair of side edges having a pair of rearward portions that extend from the back edge parallel to each other toward the front edge, and the pair of side edges also have a pair of forward portions that respectively extend from the pair of rearward portions toward the front edge in a converging manner. A back wall of the food box has a first edge connected to the back edge of the base and has a second edge extending in a spaced and parallel relationship to its first edge. A cover of the food box has a first edge connected to the second edge of the back wall and has a second edge extending in a spaced and parallel relationship to its first edge and including a tuck flap, and the cover also has an elongated shape including opposite ends. A front wall of the food box has a first edge connected to the front edge of the base and has a second edge extending in a spaced and parallel relationship to its first edge, and the front wall has an elongated shape including opposite ends. A dip tray panel of the food box has a front edge connected to the second edge of the front wall and has a rear edge extending in a spaced and parallel relationship to its front edge but with a greater length, and the dip tray panel also has at least one opening for receiving a dip sauce cup. A support wall of the food box has a first edge connected to the rear edge of the dip tray panel and has a second edge including a tuck flap. A pair of base side wall assemblies of the food box are respectively connected to the pair of side edges of the base. Each base side wall assembly includes a rearward side wall connected to the rearward portion of one of the base side edges, a triangular connection panel connected to the forward portion of the associated base side edge, a first rectangular forward side wall connected to the rearward side wall and to the triangular connection panel, and a second rectangular forward side wall connected to the triangular connection panel and the adjacent end of the front wall. The triangular connection panel and the first and second rectangular forward side walls of each base side wall assembly each have right angle corners having a common junction with each other. The back wall, the front wall, the dip tray panel, the support wall, and the pair of base side wall assemblies are foldable to provide a food receptacle and to support the dip tray above the base with the first and second forward side walls of each base side wall assembly having engaged vertical edges providing a vertical junction with each other spaced rearwardly from the front wall to provide support of the dip tray panel. The cover is foldable to close the food receptacle and to selectively provide opening thereof for consumption of food within the receptacle.
The food box also includes a pair of cover side walls respectively connected to opposite ends of the cover. A pair of cover back wall closure flaps are respectively connected to the pair of cover side walls. In one construction, the pair of cover side wall flaps are square. In another construction, the pair of cover side wall flaps are generally square and have projections that extend toward each other adjacent the rear edge of the base after folding of the food box.
The food box has the dip tray panel disclosed as including a pair of openings for respectively receiving a pair of dip sauce cups. In one construction, each of the pair of openings in the dip tray panel is round, while another construction has one of the pair of round openings in the dip tray panel including a pair of diametrically opposite sizing tabs, and a further construction has each of the pair of round openings in the dip tray panel including a pair of diametrically opposite sizing tabs.
One construction of the food box has the cover including a rearward portion that covers the food receptacle and a forward portion that covers the dip tray panel. The front wall and dip tray panel have a connection including a slit that receives the cover flap to secure the cover in a closed position with this construction. The dip tray panel of this construction also is disclosed as including at least one notch that facilitates manual access to the forward portion of the cover for opening of the cover, and may also include a pair of notches that facilitate the manual access to the forward portion of the cover for opening of the cover. One construction has the forward portion of the cover imperforate, while another construction has the forward portion of the cover including openings through which dip sauce cups can be viewed.
A further construction has the cover extending only over the food receptacle. In this construction, the dip tray panel and the support wall have a connection including a slit that receives the cover flap to secure the cover in a closed position.